Photovoltaic installations, in particular rural installations, may have a large number of photovoltaic modules, a plurality of which, generally adjacent, are in each case combined to form photovoltaic module groups. The modules in a group are typically connected in series, for example, to form a so-called string.
Each group within the installation may have its own associated inverter for converting the direct current that is produced to alternating current for feeding into a supply system. Alternatively, a plurality of groups can be connected together to one inverter, which is designed for a correspondingly higher power. In a situation such as this, the inverter may have an AC voltage circuit but may have a plurality of input circuits on the DC voltage side for connection to the individual groups.
When planning a relatively large rural installation, the aim is normally to achieve a certain regularity in the geometric arrangement of the individual modules and strings, and their association with the inverters, which are distributed within the rural installation. However, the outline of a rural installation generally is not in the form of a simple geometric figure, for example a rectangle. Particularly in the edge area of a rural installation, or else when extensions or repairs are carried out retrospectively, the regularity is, however, frequently interrupted. This means that, in the case of many relatively large installations, the precise position of individual groups of modules that are associated with a specific inverter or inverter circuit is unknown.
A fault situation, for example a failed string or a string whose power has decreased, is generally identified by monitoring devices that are normally provided in the inverters, and is also signalled to a control center via a data network. In this case, a serial number of the inverter is generally output, but this provides no indication of where the inverter is installed. The serial number is frequently also not recorded on an installation plan, since it is not yet known when the installation plan is produced during the installation planning. It is therefore often complex to locate an inverter. Rectification of the fault within a stream or its wiring additionally requires the location of the string to be found, although, without an association plan, this is possible only by tedious tracing of the wiring between an inverter and the connected elements. This tracing is also complex and subject to errors.